Incense can be found in the market in different forms. Common forms of incense:

Coil. Shaped into a coil form like mosquito repellant with combustible binders. It can last for a period of time varying from hours to days.

Cone: Shaped like a mountain with combustible binders, it burns relatively fast.

Cored stick: This form of stick incense has a supporting core of bamboo. The core is coated by a thick layer of incense material that burns away with the core. Cored incensed sticks are sometimes known as Joss sticks.

Solid stick: This stick incense has no supporting core and is completely made of incense material. It allows the user to determine the specific amount of incense they wish to burn by breaking into suitable sizes.

Powdered or granulated: The incense material is made direct from grinding the herbs or ingredients into finer bits. This incense burns much quicker than incense with combustible binders but it provides more intensive smells. It is also the purest form of incense as there is no burning of binder materials.

In general, large and coarse incense tends to burn longer than finer incense. The coarseness is dependent on the natural texture of the herbs as well as the grinding time during the incense making process.

Incense Selection

There are various varieties of incense with different scent and uses available, and the recommended tips for selection are as follows:

Select the incense from a reputable incense maker or place of origin which has authentic lineage formulation.

Determine the duration of use, e.g. incense sticks for a specific period, granulated or powder for strong scent in short durations.

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